Q&A: Zappos' Jane Judd on customer loyalty
Zappos has built up a reputation for excellent customer service, and owes much of its success to this. The fact that 75% of its business comes from repeat customers provides convincing evidence of its importance.
I've been asking Jane Judd, who is the senio manager of Zappos' Customer Loyalty Team, and was one of the keynote speakers at the recent Internet Retailing conference, about the company's approach...
Which etailers make it too hard to phone them?
Providing contact options for customers is a pretty basic requirement for online retailers, yet often users are forced to hunt around on websites for contact details.
While email can be a useful contact method, responses are rarely instant, so a contact number should be provided for customer support. yet so many retailers don't seem to want customers to call them.
Case study: how to lose customers and destroy your brand
Software licensing can be a tough business. But if you're able to build a great product and acquire customers, it can be a rewarding business. The founders of Jelsoft, the company behind the popular vBulletin message board software, know that first hand.
Having built arguably the best message board software out there, they sold Jelsoft to Internet Brands in 2007 for an undisclosed amount. And two years later, Internet Brands is facing a violent customer revolt over a new product and new licensing terms.
The internet is not responsible for rude customer service
Before the advent of the internet and social media, citizens and consumers had little recourse when they spotted injustice or suffered abuse. But that's all changed. Thanks to ubiquitous mobile phone cameras and internet content sharing services, when something goes down, there's a good chance it will recorded and posted online.
A customer service assistant for London Underground recently learned that the hard way after he hurled harsh words at an elderly passenger. The incident was 'caught on tape', uploaded to the internet and an uproar ensued. Consequently, the customer service assistant is voluntarily no longer employed by London Underground.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Social media growth continued to accelerate this year, with more brands integrating social channels into their marketing campaigns. There are some amazing examples of truly innovative, forward-thinking brands that have effectively used social media to connect with their customers, build engagement and create buzz.
However, with just as many companies jumping on the proverbial bandwagon (in an arguably over-hyped space), it’s clear that some brands still “just do not get it".
Here we look back at some of the best (and worst) examples of social media in 2009.
Customer care in online retail: are email and the phone overrated?
If you're an online retailer, offering email customer care is a best practice that few ignore. And many, myself included, believe that providing customer care by phone is very desirable. Anecdotally, I have a good friend who runs an e-commerce website and he claims that his orders dropped significantly when he (temporarily) stopped taking orders and providing assistance by phone.
But be that as it may, a new study conducted by Loudhouse Research for CRM provider RightNow Technologies suggests that when it comes to customer care in online retail leading up to a purchase, both email and phone are overrated.
What happens in Vegas: Nielsen Usability Week (day one)
Nerves kick in as I weave my way past rows of fat people munching on fried chicken and simultaneously shoving coins into slot machines. I’m looking for Caesar’s Palace Conference Center but all I can see is a giant bust of Nero and rows of busy blackjack tables. It’s 8am.
At 9am, having eaten my own way through a Vegas breakfast buffet the length of a tube carriage, I’m ready to present six hours of brand new material onhow to write cost-effective customer care copy at Jakob Nielsen’s Usability Week.
Email is alive and well. And helping your social media campaign.
The Wall Street Journal may have declared "The End of the Email Era" this week, but that obituary went live far too soon.
Email is still alive and kicking. Beyond the fact that email usage still continues to grow, it is also a key factor in all of the more recent social tools that are seeing explosive growth. And according to a new study by Pontiflex, marketers are finding consumers much more willing to share information via email than social media, meaning that email is still an integral tool in marketing campaigns.
Why Facebook could be the next big news publisher
Facebook's growth, it seems, is limited only by the scope of Mark Zuckerberg's ambition. It began as a social networking site trying to keep up with MySpace, but Facebook is now circling its own orbit.
All that's stopping Facebook from becoming the pre-eminent news publisher for its 300m users is Zuckerberg's desire to do it.
Little things mean a lot: Usability & the wonky tray table effect
Even relatively small usability problems can have a big effect on user experience and user confidence on your site, especially at crucial stages of the user journey.
Holiday shopping forecast 2009: a lot like 2008, with more coupons
The NLA explains why it is going after the news aggregators
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
